Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Toto · 08-23-2012, 07:46 PM

Warner Bros moving forward with Pontius Pilate movie

Quote:

. . . Penned by Tortilla Soup scribe Vera Blasi, the script tells the story of Pilate’s rise through the military ranks, his promising political career and ultimately his thankless appointment to the religious hotbed of Judea.

Blasi told Deadline she estimates about eighty percent of the story arc was pulled from either The Bible or historical records, while the other twenty percent was made up to fill in the gaps. Raised Catholic, she spent years researching not only her main character’s life but also the other pertinent figures who played a central role in how Pilate ended up in Judea and why he chose to let Christ be nailed to the cross. Throughout the film, he’ll reportedly interact with Tiberius, Caligula, John the Baptist, Salome and Mary Magdalene and many others.

There was a previous film in 1962 based on the gospel of John. John Drew Barrymore played both Judas Iscariot and Jesus of Nazareth.

But this movie is more in the veins of Gladiator or Braveheart.

Warner Bros. Develops 'Gladiator'-ish Movie About Pontius Pilate

Quote:

According to Deadline, the script of "Pontius Pilate" is presented in the vein of "Braveheart" and "Gladiator". It has the twists and unexpected turns that combine history, political maneuvering and storytelling inventions.

It follows Pilate's evolution from the sensitive son of a Roman Knight into a ferocious soldier who later becomes the fifth Prefect of the Roman province of Judaea. He was infamously known as the judge who presided over the trial of Jesus Christ and authorized his crucifixion.

Instead of presenting a straight-ahead biblical story, Blasi's script describes Pilate as a "proud, capable Roman soldier" whose "arrogance and inability to grasp the devoutness of the citizenry and its hatred for the Roman occupiers and their pagan gods leads him to make catastrophic decisions" to allow Jesus to be crucified.

Duke Leto · 08-23-2012, 08:09 PM

They could save the bother of writing and just adapt "The Master and Margarita". That Pilate was much more interesting.

Horatio Parker · 08-23-2012, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duke Leto

They could save the bother of writing and just adapt "The Master and Margarita". That Pilate was much more interesting.

Great book.

The Pilate in Robert Grave's "King Jesus" is also an interesting if unscrupulous character.

youngalexander · 08-23-2012, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Pilate's evolution from the sensitive son of a Roman Knight

Was he perhaps waylaid by a confused Nurse and 'apprenticed to a Pirate' rather than a Pilot?
And what significance is there in 'his Natal Day'?

Just wandering!

Duke Leto · 08-23-2012, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Horatio Parker

The Pilate in Robert Grave's "King Jesus" is also an interesting if unscrupulous character.

I really need to expand Graves reading to more than "All that" and the Claudiuses.

Horatio Parker · 08-23-2012, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duke Leto

Quote:

Originally Posted by Horatio Parker

The Pilate in Robert Grave's "King Jesus" is also an interesting if unscrupulous character.

I really need to expand Graves reading to more than "All that" and the Claudiuses.

I ran across it in a resale shop for $3. Otherwise I don't think I would've bothered. Many of the scriptural romps I found boring. I loved the Claudius books.

Jesus (skipping a long story) is the legitimate heir to Herod. Pilate is secretly made aware of this and is willing to put Jesus on the throne, since Jesus doesn't preach resistance to Rome plus he shares Pilate's desire to cut the bloated temple staff(Pilate can then profit from the increased revenue). When Jesus refuses to cooperate, he turns on a dime and demands a large payment from the Sanhedrin for authorizing Jesus' execution.

PhilosopherJay · 08-24-2012, 08:11 PM

Hi All,

Why is Hollywood spending 50 or 100 million dollars promoting the one historical character associated with Jesus Christ at the very time that a mass debate over the mythological/historical nature of Jesus Christ is taking place on the internet and in academia?

We should not forget that the Catholic Legion of Decency with its Hays Office censorship controlled virtually every movie made from 1933 to the early 1960's. It was only the competition from foreign films in the late 1950's and early 1960's that caused Hollywood to ditch the Hays code.

We should also remember that in the 1930's, all the Hollywood studios sent their scripts to the German embassy in Washington so they could censor any unflaterring statements regarding Hitler and the Nazis. Charlie Chaplin's "the Great Dictator" (1940) was the first movie to have a negative portrayal of Hitler. That was eight years after the Nazis seized power in Germany. It was an independent production financed by Chaplin himself.

Despite a few notable exceptions, 95% of Hollywood movies still promote war, religion, violence, paranoia and conservative ideology.

Warmly,

Jay Raskin

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toto

Warner Bros moving forward with Pontius Pilate movie

Quote:

. . . Penned by Tortilla Soup scribe Vera Blasi, the script tells the story of Pilate’s rise through the military ranks, his promising political career and ultimately his thankless appointment to the religious hotbed of Judea.

Blasi told Deadline she estimates about eighty percent of the story arc was pulled from either The Bible or historical records, while the other twenty percent was made up to fill in the gaps. Raised Catholic, she spent years researching not only her main character’s life but also the other pertinent figures who played a central role in how Pilate ended up in Judea and why he chose to let Christ be nailed to the cross. Throughout the film, he’ll reportedly interact with Tiberius, Caligula, John the Baptist, Salome and Mary Magdalene and many others.

There was a previous film in 1962 based on the gospel of John. John Drew Barrymore played both Judas Iscariot and Jesus of Nazareth.

But this movie is more in the veins of Gladiator or Braveheart.

Warner Bros. Develops 'Gladiator'-ish Movie About Pontius Pilate

Quote:

According to Deadline, the script of "Pontius Pilate" is presented in the vein of "Braveheart" and "Gladiator". It has the twists and unexpected turns that combine history, political maneuvering and storytelling inventions.

It follows Pilate's evolution from the sensitive son of a Roman Knight into a ferocious soldier who later becomes the fifth Prefect of the Roman province of Judaea. He was infamously known as the judge who presided over the trial of Jesus Christ and authorized his crucifixion.

Instead of presenting a straight-ahead biblical story, Blasi's script describes Pilate as a "proud, capable Roman soldier" whose "arrogance and inability to grasp the devoutness of the citizenry and its hatred for the Roman occupiers and their pagan gods leads him to make catastrophic decisions" to allow Jesus to be crucified.

steve_bnk · 08-24-2012, 09:27 PM

Why? Because there is an audience.

Ever watch The Ten Commandments with Charleton Heston as Moses?

PhilosopherJay · 08-25-2012, 08:16 AM

Hi Steve,

And you do not think there would be an audience for a movie that showed Jesus of Nazareth as a literary construction or myth? What about if we cast Natalie Portman and Angelina Jolie as two lesbian priestesses of a Bitynian Christian cult promoting sex and castration as the way to rebirth, just before Roman Governor Pliny bursts in and tortures them?

Warmly,

Jay Raskin

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve_bnk

Why? Because there is an audience.

Ever watch The Ten Commandments with Charleton Heston as Moses?

outhouse · 08-25-2012, 08:54 AM

Quote:

that a mass debate over the mythological/historical nature of Jesus Christ is taking place on the internet and in academia?

this is all in your head.

there is no mass debate

and not in academia at all.

while garbage like zitgeist is watched within the ignorance of college dorms, it doesnt mean theres a debate

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08-23-2012, 08:09 PM	#2
Duke Leto Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 3,387	They could save the bother of writing and just adapt "The Master and Margarita". That Pilate was much more interesting.

08-24-2012, 09:27 PM	#8
steve_bnk Contributor Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Seattle Posts: 27,602	Why? Because there is an audience. Ever watch The Ten Commandments with Charleton Heston as Moses?

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